The Presence of Blackness Caused Cop to Confuse a Taser w/a Gun (26 yrs exp). That is, She Forgot Tasers are Yellow, Always On the Left Side of the Belt and Have a Switch. How Will a White Jury React?
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According to the criminal complaint the white cop-actress’ Black 9mm was in plain view on her body cam for at 4 seconds before she shot an unarmed Black man to death after an air freshener stop.
The complaint explains that a Special Agent McGinnis collected and reviewed the layout of Defendant’s duty belt. SSA McGinnis observed that Defendant’s handgun was holstered on the right side of the belt, set in a straight-draw position, requiring Defendant to use her right hand to draw the handgun. Defendant’s Taser was holstered on the left side of the belt, also set in a straight-draw position, requiring Defendant to use her left hand to draw her Taser. The Taser is yellow with a black grip, while the handgun is entirely black. Additionally, the texture of Defendant’s handgun has a distinct grip from that on her Taser. Defendant’s Taser is also equipped with a manual safety switch which the operator must physically disengage before the Taser can be discharged and with a laser-sighting feature, which causes a laser indicator to appear on target when the Taser is being aimed after the safety is disengaged. Defendant’s Glock handgun is not equipped with such features.
During her 26 years as a police officer, Defendant received a substantial amount of training, including training related to use of force and, specifically, to the use of Tasers and firearms. Defendant completed annual recertification training courses on each of these weapons. These courses included training on how to draw, aim, and use each weapon correctly. The training material for these courses also included notices alerting Defendant to the possibility and risks of drawing a handgun instead of a Taser.
In the six months before this incident, Defendant completed two Taser-specific training courses. For example, on March 2, 2021, Defendant attended a four-hour training course pertaining to the Taser. This course involved a classroom component, which provided detailed and substantive information concerning the function, proper use, and safety concerns associated with using Tasers; a practical component; and a written test. After this training, Defendant was certified for use of the Taser X7. On Defendant’s certificate of completion, Defendant provided her signature, acknowledging that she had read and understood the information and warnings provided by the manufacturer regarding safe use of the Taser. One of those warnings states: “Confusing a handgun with a CEW [Taser] could result in death or serious injury. Learn the differences in the physical feel and holstering characteristics between your CEW and your handgun to help avoid confusion” and instructs officers to “always follow your agency’s guidance and training.” In other prior Taser trainings completed by Defendant, including another on November 5, 2020, Defendant likewise signed paperwork acknowledging that she received, read, and understood identical warnings. [MORE]
Fourteen people – 12 jurors and two alternates – are hearing evidence in the case. The jury, which will remain anonymous until the conclusion of the trial, includes six men and six women whose ages range from 20s to 60s. Nine are white, two are Asian and one is Black, according to how the jurors self-identified to the court. The alternates are a white woman in her 70s and a white man in his 30s.
About 68% of Hennepin County residents are non-Hispanic white, nearly 14% are Black, 7.5% are Asian, and 7% are Hispanic or Latino, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. The jury, with nine white panelists, is 75% white.
Fourteen people – 12 jurors and two alternates – are hearing evidence in the case. The jury, which will remain anonymous until the conclusion of the trial, includes six men and six women whose ages range from 20s to 60s. Nine are white, two are Asian and one is Black, according to how the jurors self-identified to the court. The alternates are a white woman in her 70s and a white man in his 30s.
About 68% of Hennepin County residents are non-Hispanic white, nearly 14% are Black, 7.5% are Asian, and 7% are Hispanic or Latino, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. The jury, with nine white panelists, is 75% white.
From [HERE] and [HERE] Kimberly Potter had to fire what she thought was her stun gun to save the life of her partner, her lawyer said in an opening statement Wednesday at the trial of the former police officer who shot and killed Daunte Wright during a traffic stop in a Minneapolis suburb in April.
Ms. Potter, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of manslaughter, accidentally fired her 9mm handgun instead of her stun gun, said defense lawyer Paul Engh.
“Taser, Taser, Taser,” Mr. Engh said, quoting from video of Ms. Potter warning Mr. Wright and other officers that she was about to fire her stun gun. “All he has to do is stop, and he’d be with us.”
Mr. Engh said Ms. Potter couldn’t simply let Mr. Wright go because her partner was half-inside the car attempting to prevent Mr. Wright from driving away and would have been seriously injured or killed unless she intervened.
In the prosecution’s opening statement, Erin Eldridge, an assistant attorney general for the state of Minnesota, said that the state would present evidence that using even a stun gun wasn’t justified in the case and that Ms. Potter had failed in basic expectations of police officers.
“We trust them to know wrong from right and left from right,” she said. “This case is about Kimberly Potter betraying her badge and betraying her oath.”
She later added, “There is no do-over when you walk the streets with a loaded firearm, when you’re entrusted with a deadly weapon as part of your job.” [MORE]
The 26 year experienced, white veteran Brooklyn Center officer is charged with first- and second-degree manslaughter in Wright's death during a traffic stop-turned-arrest in April. The incident happened just miles from the ongoing trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, later convicted of murdering George Floyd, and spurred multiple days of protests and looting in the area.
Most white jurors heard testimony and watched police body and dash camera video from the second witness for the prosecution, Brooklyn Center police officer in training Anthony Luckey, who attempted to arrest Wright before the shooting.Potter was his training officer that day.
Luckey, 31, appeared in court in full uniform. He told jurors he initiated the traffic stop after noticing the car Wright was driving had a right-turn signal on in the left laneand had expired tabs and an air freshener hanging from the review mirror.
Using an aerial photo of the intersection where the shooting took place, Luckey walked jurors through what happened during the stop. He said he smelled marijuana and observed marijuana leaves scattered around the car. Wright did not have a license or insurance, Luckey said.
Luckey agreed with prosecutors that Wright was respectful and did not give him any reason to believe he was armed. He also agreed the woman in the car did not appear to be in distress.
Luckey said he, Potter and a third officer, a sergeant, attempted to arrest Wright after learning he had a warrant for failing to appear on agross misdemeanor weapons charge and a protection order that barred him from having contact with a woman.
Luckey saidWright initially got out of the car and placed his hands behind his back. Luckey said Wright pulled away as he attempted to handcuff him and got back into the driver's seat of the car. Luckey said he and Potter attempted to pull Wright out of the car while the thirdofficer tried to restrain him from the passenger side.
On cross-examination, Luckey agreed with an attorney for the defense that, if Wright had been able to drive away, he and the other officer could have been injured or killed. Luckey also told the jury that he would've used a Taser if he could have.
Luckey said he heard Potter repeatedly inform Wright she would tase him, so he pulled back. Luckeysaid that's when he saw a flash and heard the "bang" of a gunshot.
Luckey said he got hit in the face by a projectile and was temporarily unable to hear due to the gun going off at close range. Video from the scene shows Potter shouted several expletives and said she "grabbed the wrong" gun.
Luckey said Wright's car drove forward, "airborned over the median," and crashed into another vehicle and a fence.As video of the incident played, the loud subsequent bangs of the crash rang out in the courtroom, and Katie Bryant cried.
Luckey said Potter "became hysterical" after the shooting. His bodycam video shows her sobbing on the ground as officers try to comfort her. In the courtroom, Potter wiped away tears, and her attorney offered her a box of tissues.
"She said I'm going to prison," Luckey recalled.
The trial marks the second time in Minnesota state history that proceedings in a criminal trial are being livestreamed. The first time was earlier this year for the Chauvin trial.
Activists called for Potter to face murder charges after the shooting. The first-degree manslaughter charge carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and/or a $30,000 fine. The second-degree charge has a maximum sentence of 10 years and/or a $20,000 fine.
